Portable blind apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for forming a portable hunter&#39;&#39;s blind in which an adjustable seat for the hunter is disposed over a receptacle having a heating unit from which controlled heat may pass upwardly to warm the hunter, together with collapsible frame elements disposed about the seat to support reeds in simulation of a natural blind.

O Umted States Patent 1191 1111 3,744,842 Running July 10, 1973 [5 PORTABLE BLIND APPARATUS 506,496 10/1893 Hauss 297/338 x 2,829,635 4/1958 Teller 297/217 X [761 Invent fszg iw f i 3,642,318 2/1972 Avant 297/217 1 1s, 55400 p FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Filed Feb 8 1971 265,435 10/1913 Germany 297/180 [21] Appl. N0.: 113,449 Primary Examiner-James T. McCall Attorney-Carlsen, Carlsen & Sturm [52] US. Cl 297/180, 43/1, 297/192,

297/217, 297/338 [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl. A47c 7/72 PP f formmg a Portable f f blmd m [58] Field 61 Search 297/180, 193, 192, 111611 adlustalile Seat for P m IS dlspqsed Over a receptacle havmg a heatmg un1t from wh1ch con- 297/217, 338, 43/1 trolled heat may pass upwardly to warm the hunter, to- 5 References Cited gether with collapsible frame elements disposed about UNITED STATES PATENTS the seat to support reeds 1n s1mu1at1on of a natural bl d. 2,267,158 12/1941 1.66116 297/180 x m 2,978,972 4/1961 Hake 297/180 x 2 Clams, ll Drawmg gu s 196,890 11/1877 Gordon 297/180 X PATENIED 1 ,4 05 A. Row/wus- FIE %ga kw A rramvsys PORTABLE BLIND APPARATUS This invention primarily relates to equipment designed for use by hunters, although also being in part useful for other purposes, and the primary object is to provide a portable blind that can be set up in various ways for different types of hunting, while also providing accesories that will contribute substantially to the aid and comfort of the hunter while so engaged.

Other and more specific objects will be disclosed in the course of this specification, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which:

FIG. I is a top or plan view of the main section of the blind as set up for use in waterfowl hunting.

FIG. 1A is a top or plan view of a forward or supplemental section of the blind.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus as seen from below in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is a side elevation of the blind section shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the unit shown in FIG. 2, but slightly modified and with the blind forming framework and reeds removed, such a unit being better adapted for deer or other large game hunting.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the unit as seen from the right in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional elevation as seen on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a modified version of the structure shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is an elevation of the structure shown in FIG. 6, as seen from the left side thereof.

FIG. 8 is a perspective elevation of the unit shown in FIGS. 3-5, with the bracing and back frame removed.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a device for frictionally securing the damper plates in adjusted position, as on line 9-9 in FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawing more particularly and by reference characters A designates a primary frame structure made up essentially of a pair of end frames 10 and 11 rigidly connected by a body member 12 that is vertically adjustable, and when in its uppermost position will accommodate a container 13 underneath its upper or seat plate 14.

An earlier but similar primary frame structure is shown in my prior application for patent Ser. No. 63,716, filed Aug. 14, 1970, for Service Stool, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,809.

In the present instance the end frames 10 and 11 are of tubular construction and of inverted U-shaped design, in which the vertical leg bars are rigidly and permanently connected by a hollow cross bar 15 that extends somewhat beyond the leg bars.

The seat plate 14 of the body member 12 is preferably formed of a pair of rigidly connected back-to-back trays, one of which is provided at its ends with a pair of depending brackets 16 that extend down adjacent the inner faces of the cross bars 15 to which they are rigidly but releasably and adjustably secured by bolts 17 on which are threaded large hand knobs or nuts 18. The brackets 16 are provided with slots 19 permitting vertical adjustment of the brackets, with respect to the cross bars 15, so that it is not necessary to remove the bolts when making adjustments, and the brackets 16 are further provided with sets of spaced lugs 20 that are so arranged that they may selectively lock against upper and lower surfaces of the cross bars 15 to thereby rigidly secure the brackets 16 and the body member 12 at various elevations.

It may here be noted that when the container 13 is in place, as in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8, the body member 12 is in its upermost positon, but when the container is not to be used then the body member is subject to a variety of adjustments in much the same manner and for the wide variety of uses more fully set forth in my copending application Ser. No. 63,716. To this end it may here also be noted that the present body member 12 is provided with a cushion 21 to serve as a seat for the hunter, and may be placed in the opposite tray when the body member is reversed for kneeling support. The element 22 is merely a strap that connects the upper handle parts of the end frames 10 and 11 to serve as a carrying handle when the device is to be transported, and, being flexible, may be permanently left in its position on the cushion 21 if so desired.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 it will be found that the ends of the cross bars 15 serve to support a pair of upstanding forward rods 23 and a pair of rearward rods 24 all detachably secured in place by set screws 25. The rods 24 project downwardly to rearward extensions connected by a transverse plate 26 having bearing contact with the ground. The purpose of this arrangement is to give added stability to the structure and particu larly to resist tipping over backward when the hunter seated on cushion 21 is subject to recoil shocks when shooting.

The upper end portions of the rods 23 and 24 are connected at the sides and back of the main frame structure A by flexible straps 27 which not only provide leaning or resting support for the body of the hunter but serve the additional function of supporting a semicurcular grouping of locally picked or cut reeds 28 to thereby form a blind that will in substantial measure conceal the hunter. A second or outer strap 29 is secured at spaced intervals to the strap 27 but is considerably longer so as to form loops into which the reeds 28 may be inserted and by which they will be held in a natural upright position.

To complete the blind, forwardly of the hunters position, I provide a series of stakes 30 that are pushed or driven into the ground, and they are connected preferably by upper and lower straps 31 provided with reed holding loops 32 similar to loops 29.

It will, of course, be evident that after the blind has served its purpose, and the hunter is to depart, the reeds 28 can be discarded or destroyed and by loosening a few set screws the parts 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 and 32 can be rolled together in a compact package for transport.

When it is desired to use the device without the reed holding feature, as in a natural blind, or in deer hunting where the hunter is more concerned merely with his own comfort in an ambush or watching location, the rods 23 and stakes 30 with their loop straps are omitted, and the rear rods 24 are merely connected by a wide strap 33 to serve as a back rest for the hunters body, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

A further modification of this arrangement is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 wherein no back rest is shown, the rods 24 here being substituted by shorter bars 34. In this arrangement the plate 26 has an additional feature in that it supports a standard 35 having a base 36 detachably secured by wing nuts 37, while the upper end of the standard carries a horizontal shelf or support 38.

This support 38 may have various functions or uses but in the present instance is particularly located in a convenient position for the operator to place shells and cartridges and particularly objects such as thermos bottles, lunch boxes, etc., that must temporarily beremoved from the container 13 when it is being heated.

The container 13 is of rectangular form, in plan, and of such length that it will fit snugly between the depending brackets 16, to which it may be detachably held by the same bolts 17 and knobs 18 that secure the brackets to the cross bars 15.

The container has a bottom plate 39 continuing upwardly in relatively low front and rear walls 40 and 41, and end walls 42 the upper ends of which are slightly tapered up to a level slightly below the plate 14 so as to leave a limited warm air escape space 43 at each end of the seat.

The warm air referred to is created by a fuel burning heater H (FIG. that may be of any suitable construction as a small space heater, and such warm air not only passes upwardly through the spaces 43 under the ends of the seat 12 but also rises upwardly through the even larger front and back passageways 44 and 45 the sizes of which are controlled by damper plates 46 and 47 respectively.

It may here be explained that when hunting in cold weather an experienced hunter will wear an overcoat or similar heavy outer garment that may well serve its purpose when he is moving around. But when he sits still, as in a blind, such garments lose much of their effectiveness, except that in the present instance they hang down around the entire seat unit A and thereby capture and retain much of the warm air rising from the heater H.

Under such circumstances and in order to best utilize as little artificial heat as possible it is important that the operator be able to quickly and easily control the distribution of the rising air and also that he be able to have ready access to the heater H itself so as to control the volume or intensity of the heat.

To these ends the rear damper plate 47 is provided at each end with a flange 48 (FIG. 9) that is secured to a rearwardly projecting lug 49 of adjacent end plate 42, by a bolt 50 and wing nut 51, with a friction washer 52 preferably interposed between parts 42 and 48. Thus the size of the upper air passageway 45 may be readily controlled, while there at all times remains a narrow or limited opening between the lower edge of damper 47 and the upper edge of wall 41 to permit ingress of air to the container for combustion purposes.

The damper plate or door 46 is provided at its ends with triangular extensions 53 that fit snugly within the upper end walls 42 of the container and are preferably secured thereto by friction devices such as shown in FIG. 9. The extensions 53 are so formed and their pivot pins 50 so located that instead of having the damper swing outwardly, as with 47, it may swing upwardly and inwardly under the seat plate 12, by grasping a finger knob 54. In this way the door 46 can be moved to a completely out-of-the-way place so as not to interfere with free access to the heater or other articles in the container from the front of the latter. As will be evident the damper 46, by lesser adjustment, will still be operative to control the size of the front air passage 44, and is also spaced above the wall 40 to permit air for combustion to pass through the front of the container.

Having now disclosed preferred embodiments of my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Portable blind apparatus comprising a pair of vertical end frames, a seat forming body member rigidly secured between the frames to support them in upright positions and connected thereto for seat adjustment to selected heights, an open top container detachably secured at its ends to the end frames under the body member when the latter is disposed in an elevated position, said container being adapted to contain a heating element and having passages for the upward movement of heated air upwardly from the container and about the seat of the body member, said passages being formed, in part, by upper edges of the container walls and adjacent peripheral edges of the seat forming body member, and means for selectively controlling the relative amounts of air passing upwardly around the front and rear edges of the seat, which means includes an upper wall section of the container that is pivoted adjacent its lower edge so that its upper edge may be adjusted with respect to one edge of said body member to thereby control the size of the air passage therebetween.

2. The structure specified in claim 1 in which upper sections of opposite walls of the container are pivotally mounted so that upper edges of said sections may be independently secured in adjusted positions with respect to adjacent edges of said body member to selectively control the air flows to and around said body member edges. 

1. Portable blind apparatus comprising a pair of vertical end frames, a seat forming body member rigidly secured between the frames to support them in upright positions and connected thereto for seat adjustment to selected heights, an open top container detachably secured at its ends to the end frames under the body member when the latter is disposed in an elevated position, said container being adapted to contain a heating element and having passages for the upward movement of heated air upwardly from the container and about the seat of the body member, said passages being formed, in part, by upper edges of the container walls and adjacent peripheral edges of the seat forming body member, and means for selectively controlling the relative amounts oF air passing upwardly around the front and rear edges of the seat, which means includes an upper wall section of the container that is pivoted adjacent its lower edge so that its upper edge may be adjusted with respect to one edge of said body member to thereby control the size of the air passage therebetween.
 2. The structure specified in claim 1 in which upper sections of opposite walls of the container are pivotally mounted so that upper edges of said sections may be independently secured in adjusted positions with respect to adjacent edges of said body member to selectively control the air flows to and around said body member edges. 